Can you believe that in 1969 this was considered a dirt bike?

tblazier
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tblazier 5/25/2013 4:01pm
5/25/2013 4:01pm
tblazier wrote:
I actually had a 73 CB350 I rode off-road for a while back in the day. Fun street bike, scary in the dirt.. Plus expensive parts...
I actually had a 73 CB350 I rode off-road for a while back in the day. Fun street bike, scary in the dirt.. Plus expensive parts tended to snap off every time I dropped it. Ah the good old days...
Moto Soul Mag wrote:
Hey T-Blaze did you ride that CB350 sled around Loudoun County? We had a couple tracks in Round Hill. Back in Hill High Orchard and also...
Hey T-Blaze did you ride that CB350 sled around Loudoun County?

We had a couple tracks in Round Hill. Back in Hill High Orchard and also the infamous "Turtle Hill." Only old timers would know that stuff. There were two fast kids from Round Hill named Eddie and Timmy Clark. This is late 70s/early 80s.
Hel yeah I did! I ripped around every gravel back road in Loudoun county on that old beast. I remember watching the Carlsbad GP one year on ABC and getting so pumped I jumped on that 400 pound sled and tore up a logging road near my house for 10 minutes before totally eating shit. Picked the Honda up and both tun signals were toast and it had a huge dent in the tank. What the hell was I thinking?
mxpappy711
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mxpappy711 5/25/2013 5:00pm
5/25/2013 5:00pm
Didn't ride one in 69 ( I was only 9) but own one now (350 tho) not great on dirt, but fun on the street. It is my pit bike and transportation when using my motor home. Have a 2012 KTM 250 sx and 99 Kawasaki ZRX 1100 for woods and street riding. But I bet in 69 if you had one of these you were happy as hell. Mine makes me pretty happy now, but I am into vintage stuff and ride it quite often, I get many complements on it from young and old guys alike.
Spartacus
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Spartacus 5/25/2013 5:12pm
5/25/2013 5:12pm
The part no one that wasn't there would believe was how damm much farking fun we had on those bikes. They were absolutely terrible but we didn't care!

The Shop

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Moto Soul Mag 5/25/2013 8:22pm
5/25/2013 8:22pm
tblazier wrote:
I actually had a 73 CB350 I rode off-road for a while back in the day. Fun street bike, scary in the dirt.. Plus expensive parts...
I actually had a 73 CB350 I rode off-road for a while back in the day. Fun street bike, scary in the dirt.. Plus expensive parts tended to snap off every time I dropped it. Ah the good old days...
Moto Soul Mag wrote:
Hey T-Blaze did you ride that CB350 sled around Loudoun County? We had a couple tracks in Round Hill. Back in Hill High Orchard and also...
Hey T-Blaze did you ride that CB350 sled around Loudoun County?

We had a couple tracks in Round Hill. Back in Hill High Orchard and also the infamous "Turtle Hill." Only old timers would know that stuff. There were two fast kids from Round Hill named Eddie and Timmy Clark. This is late 70s/early 80s.
tblazier wrote:
Hel yeah I did! I ripped around every gravel back road in Loudoun county on that old beast. I remember watching the Carlsbad GP one year...
Hel yeah I did! I ripped around every gravel back road in Loudoun county on that old beast. I remember watching the Carlsbad GP one year on ABC and getting so pumped I jumped on that 400 pound sled and tore up a logging road near my house for 10 minutes before totally eating shit. Picked the Honda up and both tun signals were toast and it had a huge dent in the tank. What the hell was I thinking?
Ha- that's awesome. I remember when the GP was on. I was riding my 1979 XR80 I got from Bob's Honda!

I was up in Hamilton a couple weeks ago. Got lots of family there. We should grab a beer sometime.
WhKnuckle
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WhKnuckle 5/26/2013 4:21am
5/26/2013 4:21am
Spartacus wrote:
The part no one that wasn't there would believe was how damm much farking fun we had on those bikes. They were absolutely terrible but we...
The part no one that wasn't there would believe was how damm much farking fun we had on those bikes. They were absolutely terrible but we didn't care!
We didn't care? Heck, we didn't even know. If the engine ran, we rode. If the engine didn't run, we wrenched. It was a simpler time.
slowvet
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slowvet 5/26/2013 7:41am
5/26/2013 7:41am
Moto Soul Mag wrote:
Hey T-Blaze did you ride that CB350 sled around Loudoun County? We had a couple tracks in Round Hill. Back in Hill High Orchard and also...
Hey T-Blaze did you ride that CB350 sled around Loudoun County?

We had a couple tracks in Round Hill. Back in Hill High Orchard and also the infamous "Turtle Hill." Only old timers would know that stuff. There were two fast kids from Round Hill named Eddie and Timmy Clark. This is late 70s/early 80s.
Ever ride at Bullah pit? That place was fun!
slowvet
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slowvet 5/26/2013 7:44am
5/26/2013 7:44am
Spartacus wrote:
The part no one that wasn't there would believe was how damm much farking fun we had on those bikes. They were absolutely terrible but we...
The part no one that wasn't there would believe was how damm much farking fun we had on those bikes. They were absolutely terrible but we didn't care!
WhKnuckle wrote:
We didn't care? Heck, we didn't even know. If the engine ran, we rode. If the engine didn't run, we wrenched. It was a simpler time.
A bottle of Bel Ray inside your boot and guesstimating 30:1 ratio at the gas station!
Moto Soul Mag 5/26/2013 10:53am
5/26/2013 10:53am
Moto Soul Mag wrote:
Hey T-Blaze did you ride that CB350 sled around Loudoun County? We had a couple tracks in Round Hill. Back in Hill High Orchard and also...
Hey T-Blaze did you ride that CB350 sled around Loudoun County?

We had a couple tracks in Round Hill. Back in Hill High Orchard and also the infamous "Turtle Hill." Only old timers would know that stuff. There were two fast kids from Round Hill named Eddie and Timmy Clark. This is late 70s/early 80s.
slowvet wrote:
Ever ride at Bullah pit? That place was fun!
Haven't heard of that place. Are you from Loudoun?
bullpen658
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bullpen658 5/26/2013 11:01am
5/26/2013 11:01am
Those four strokes ruined the sport! Prior to 1940, everyone ran two strokes and they were awesome. My dad raced a 1941 BSA 650 two stroke. It had seven cylinders and 9 carbs. It only weighed 750 pounds and put out 31 horsepower!!!! It also had 1.5" of travel in the forks.

Those were the good ole days.
MXEditor
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MXEditor 5/26/2013 11:04am
5/26/2013 11:04am Edited Date/Time 5/26/2013 11:05am
Here's my first real streetbike...this isn't the actual one, but it's so close it's amazing. Around 1977...

ImTheDude
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ImTheDude 5/26/2013 4:17pm
5/26/2013 4:17pm
Nice thread!
I've been running around this all weekend, 1976 Suzuki TS185.
It's been tucked away in my barn for a long time, a new battery and gas was all she needed to fire up.
Tires and battery are the only non OEM parts.
Great bike but the 50mph top speed keeps me from riding it daily.
Sorry about the instagram pic, it's all i have.
dazzlindino 5/26/2013 5:42pm
5/26/2013 5:42pm
but what about bike setup....I mean....what did u guyz change between motos....to compensate for track conditions....
Spartacus
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Spartacus 5/26/2013 6:19pm
5/26/2013 6:19pm
dazzlindino wrote:
but what about bike setup....I mean....what did u guyz change between motos....to compensate for track conditions....
Just getting the bike to run for the second moto was a major accomplishment!
dazzlindino 5/26/2013 7:13pm
5/26/2013 7:13pm
dazzlindino wrote:
but what about bike setup....I mean....what did u guyz change between motos....to compensate for track conditions....
Spartacus wrote:
Just getting the bike to run for the second moto was a major accomplishment!
LOL...taint dat da truth!
backinthesaddleagain 5/26/2013 7:22pm
5/26/2013 7:22pm


Kind of hard to see but in this collection way in the back is a matchless scrambler. Not sure what it cost in the day but cost $25K last year.
WhKnuckle
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WhKnuckle 5/26/2013 7:32pm
5/26/2013 7:32pm
dazzlindino wrote:
but what about bike setup....I mean....what did u guyz change between motos....to compensate for track conditions....
Spartacus wrote:
Just getting the bike to run for the second moto was a major accomplishment!
dazzlindino wrote:
LOL...taint dat da truth!
I remember DeCoster saying that the CZ guys would measure the knobs on the tires between races to see if they needed new ones before the next GP. "One more race, boys, then we put on fresh tires."

Pit Row

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xnationalwrench 5/26/2013 7:41pm
5/26/2013 7:41pm
dazzlindino wrote:
but what about bike setup....I mean....what did u guyz change between motos....to compensate for track conditions....
I would gas it up, check the plug, lube and adjust the chain, friends asked why I tuned it up at the track?
backinthesaddleagain 5/26/2013 7:47pm
5/26/2013 7:47pm
dazzlindino wrote:
but what about bike setup....I mean....what did u guyz change between motos....to compensate for track conditions....
xnationalwrench wrote:
I would gas it up, check the plug, lube and adjust the chain, friends asked why I tuned it up at the track?
What no spoke adjustments? Replace paper air filters? Cool times.
WhipMeister
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WhipMeister 5/26/2013 9:04pm
5/26/2013 9:04pm
HuskyEd wrote:
My first true MX bike.:woohoo: [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2013/05/25/23604/s1200_1973_Yamaha_LT3_MX100.jpg[/img]
My first true MX bike.Woohoo

Me, too. Well, that's a 73. Mine was a 72, solid green tank. Everything else the same.
jchek779
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jchek779 5/28/2013 5:40am
5/28/2013 5:40am


I just finished a full restoration of a 69 Scrambler CL450. As I stood on the pegs to kick it over for the first time, I thought to myself; "How the hell am I going to ride this thing?"

Restoring a vintage bike has been a humbling experience. Rather than just swapping out parts like we typically do, I spent a lot of time reviving old chrome, polishing aluminum, and trying to protect/restore as much of the original things I could. I also learned a number of useful tricks along the way.

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